Book Review: Secrets of an Accidental Duchess by Jennifer Haymore

Secrets of an Accidental Duchess

By Jennifer Haymore

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Summary: With her pale hair and slim figure, Olivia Donovan looks as fragile as fine china, and has been treated as such by her sisters ever since a childhood bout with malaria. But beneath her delicate facade, Olivia guards a bold, independent spirit and the kind of passionate desires proper young ladies must never confess... 

It was a reckless wager, and one Max couldn't resist: seduce the alluring Olivia or forfeit part of his fortune. Yet the wild, soon-to-be Duke never imagined he'd fall in love with this innocent beauty. Nor could he have guessed that a dangerously unpredictable rival would set out to destroy them both. Now, Max must beat a madman at his own twisted game-or forever lose the only woman to have ever won his heart.

Review: I was so excited when I found out I was a part of this blog tour, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when I was actually reading this book! Everything about it was wonderful and I couldn't put it down! I had to know what was going to happen next and missed out on some very needed hours of sleep just so I could finish it! 

Olivia is probably one of the best heroines ever! She is so weak because of her Malaria, but she never lets that stop her from doing what she wants. And she's so innocent that she has no idea what to do when it comes to Max, the soon to be Duke of Wakefield. Even though Olivia is quite a character, Max can't help but fall for her as soon as he sees her. He has this primal instinct to protect Olivia, especially from the evil Fenwicke. 

The immensely sweet love story isn't the only thing I loved about this book. There's so much action and adventure in the last 100 pages that made the end even better than the beginning. There are secrets, kidnappings, and near death experiences that will keep you on your toes. And during all of this Max and Olivia can never stop thinking of each other. 

This was SUCH a good historical romance novel and I can't believe it went by so fast! I'm definitely picking up more books by Jennifer Haymore and I recommend all of you do the same as soon as you can!

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of! 

Scarlet 

By A.C. Gaughen

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Summary: Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. 

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Ahhhhhhhh this book sounds so good!! I love Robin Hood, especially the BBC tv show adaptation, so when I figure out this book was about a girl posing as one of his bandits (and falling in love with him...) I couldn't wait to get it! The cove is super pretty and the summary of "action, secrets, and romance" sounds exactly like the book I want to read! Early reviews for this book have been awesome (it has an average of 4.11 stars on goodreads), so I know it's going to be a good read! Can't wait for this one to come out and read a new take on my beloved Robin Hood :) 

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

Summary: Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes's older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy named Sim (Noomi Rapace).


Review: I really love Sherlock Holmes, so it's no surprise I liked this one even better than the first one. There was even more action, gadget, and insane tricks in this one. Though the movie was so long, there was rarely a dull moment among the fights and heart-stopping suspense. 


Robert Downey Jr. is the PERFECT person to play Sherlock Holmes and he is cockier than ever, which makes him such a lovable character. His ideas sound so insane, but end up working out when they most need them to. He has ridiculous disguises, but they just gave the movie a humorous aspect to this action packed mystery/adventure film. 


Watson's fiancé plays a bigger part in the movie, which I'm glad because I really liked her. We also get to meet Holmes' brother, who is surely a character in himself. So all of the characters were so interesting and the story was pretty awesome. There were so many twist, turns, and surprises that I couldn't help but really enjoy the movie. If you were a fan of the first one, definitely check the new Sherlock Holmes out. And if you thought the first one was just okay, then give this one a chance. You may find yourself actually liking it! 

Author Interview: Miranda Kenneally

I am SO excited to announce that today I have an interview with Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan! Her novel was published this past December, so she is here to share with us a little bit about herself!

Miranda Kenneally is the author of CATCHING JORDAN, a contemporary YA novel about football and femininity, coming in December 2011. Other books include STEALING PARKER (fall 2012) and BAD, BAD THING (spring 2013). Miranda is the co-creator of Dear Teen Me. The Dear Teen Me Anthology will be published by Zest Books (distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) in late 2012. She enjoys reading and writing young adult literature, and loves Star Trek, music, sports, Mexican food, Twitter, coffee, and her husband. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook. Miranda is represented by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency.

In three words, how would you describe Catching Jordan?

Football, Friends, and Food. 

If you could be anyone from Catching Jordan, who would you be and why? 

I'd probably be Marie. She's so kind and down to Earth. Although, I wish I could be like Jordan and have a crazy metabolism allowing me to eat anything I want all the time. 

Catching Jordan is focused around football and I know your next book, Stealing Parker is about a girl falling for the baseball coach. Why did you choose to use sports as the main focus in your young adult novels?

Well, I've always liked teams and relationships amongst players on teams. Also, I love sports in general. I've written some stuff that don't really focus on sports. My third book, which doesn't really have a title yet so I'm calling it Bad, Bad Thing, takes place at a summer camp. There isn't really a sports focus to it.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Work too much. Read YA romances. Go out for Mexican food!

What's your favorite color? 

Blue! (or I could say "clear" like Ty does in Catching Jordan. He says his favorite color is clear, especially when it comes to women's bathing suits)

What's your favorite book and why? 

My favorite book is Graceling by Kristin Cashore because Katsa is incredibly badass, yet damaged, and works hard to overcome what she considers to be her flaws. Also, Po is my favorite love interest ever. I think my husband is jealous of Po.

Tell us a bit about your next book Stealing Parker! When should we expect to see it in stores? 

Stealing Parker comes out in October 2012. It's set at the same school as Catching Jordan, so you'll see some familiar faces. The book is about a 17-year-old girl named Parker, who after an incident, decides to quit the softball team. She becomes the manager for the baseball team, where she starts to fall for the new coach, who's 23.

I want to thank Miranda so much for being a guest on Peace Love Books today! If you haven't yet, check out her book Catching Jordan! Trust me it's awesome! You can check out my review right here! Here's some info about Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker (October 2012). 

Catching Jordan

Release Date: December 1, 2011

Summary: What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.








Stealing Parker
Release Date: October 2012

Summary: About a 17-year-old girl named Parker who falls for the new 23-year-old coach of the baseball team. 

Companion to Catching Jordan.

Book Review: Iwishicana by Larissa Hinton

Iwishicana 

By Larissa Hinton

Release Date: August 12, 2011

Summary: Where rules are meant to be broken

Anissa is constantly on the run from the police and can't seem to stay out of trouble.

Secrets are meant to be kept

Until Anissa hides Florence in her bedroom and her mother finds out. There's only one thing left to do: Send her to Juvenile Cop Camp to 

erase all of her crimes on her record. 

And everything is not what it seems

There's only one problem: Anissa is innocent.

Welcome to Iwishacana.

Review: Looking at this cover, I thought this book was going to be really good. Isn't the cover gorgeous? But I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover. The story was lacking in so many ways and I just couldn't get into it. 

In the beginning, the reader is dumped into the story with no explanation whatsoever. Even by the end, I still had no idea what Iwishacana really was and how they all had "wishes" and could go in between worlds. The idea for another dimension where people on earth could go is creative, but it was just way too confusing to follow. Anissa just randomly goes to a school for criminals when it seems like a normal school with normal kids. Some aspects of the story were introduced and then left unfinished, like they had never happened. The story seemed choppy, rushed, and not thought out. 

Anissa was an okay main character, but a lot of times her actions and the things she said were unbelievable. She would mouth off to everyone and get what she wanted, which got really annoying. And Florence (which I think is a weird name for the main guy in the story) was a pig in the beginning, yet they were in love? Their relationship was confusing because Anissa would call him her "lover" but then hate the sight of him. Then she would say they were friends with benefits when they hadn't even kissed. So their relationship was just weird and confusing. 

This book held so much potential, but the author did not make it work. By the end of the book, I was still confused by everything that had happened and what the heck happened in the world they live in. This story needs a lot of work to be an enjoyable book.

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is a meme that I picked up from The Story Siren's blog. It's where we share the new books that we've gotten for that week with our readers. These books could be from the library, the store, or from the writers/publishers for review. Whatever the reason, I will share my new books every Sunday!

From the Publisher

I got this book for the blog tour that's stopping by Peace Love books on the 5th! Stop by then for a chance to win one of three copies of this book! Doesn't it look great? I can't wait to read it! 

That's it! What did you all get in your mailbox? Please share!

Shelf Candy (23)

Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews and every Saturday, bloggers choose a book whose cover really catches their eye. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I always do, so I'm choosing books whose cover alone made me pick it up. So I hope you enjoy my shelf candy!

Even though I really did not like the series, I LOVE the covers! The colors are so pretty and I love the bubble idea. In the first one, she's trapped in the bubble but in the second one she's breaking out, which I think has a lot to do with the actual content of the book and the main character being able to finally think for herself. They also have that futuristic appeal, which really goes with the story. These books are so pretty to look at, I just wish the stories inside were just as good!